Boiler Installation - Am I being gouged?

I see your point hvaclover, but come on.
How long would it take Mahatma to realize the nearly $12,000 upfront cost in burning efficiency? Maybe he'd save a few hundred per year? By the time he goes to replace the natural gas unit 20 years from now, it would just be maybe paying for itself.

The fact is, oil and natural gas are at basically the same price. If his existing system were running fine, you'd have to examine long and hard just how worth it it would be to switch at this point. After all, we're in a frigging depression here, man.

Boiler Installation - Am I being gouged?

i was talking about his 20 year old, not my 50 year old. regardless, mine is running perfectly. i see no reason to replace it just because it might crack some day.
i do look forward to the day it cracks, so i have a valid reason to replace it. until then, i keep the t-stat at 50, and will soon be installing a separate water heater to be able to shut the boiler off soon.

i'm penny pinching out of necessity, by the way, not because i enjoy it, necessarily.

Boiler Installation - Am I being gouged?

Quote:

Originally Posted by hvaclover

Just don't build a campfire in your front room to keep warm. I hear that is a fire hazard.

Uhhh...but I do that
Well....in the fireplace
If this house had a 50 year old boiler it would have been the 1st thing replaced when we bought the house. And would have been an excellent bargaining chip to shave $5k+ off the cost of the house

Boiler Installation - Am I being gouged?

I bought the house "as is" from a little old lady. It wasn't even technically for sale. No realtor, no broker, nothing. I made an offer, and it was accepted.The price I paid, in this town and location, is unheard of (low).

So the old boiler is a moot point. Yes, I'd like to replace it when I get the money together. I understand your points about efficiency. The truth is right now I've got far bigger fish to fry (insulating the place, for one).

Boiler Installation - Am I being gouged?

Boiler Installation - Am I being gouged?

Time for an update in the Mahatma-oil-to-gas-conversion saga... The insurance company is going to give me a hard time about replacing the boiler (which has a cracked tank) because their policy is to not pay the cost of fixing the cause of the damage. In my mind, the cause of the damage was the burner malfunction. The tank cracked several days later (I assume) as the empty house froze. Anyway, we're going to argue about that. I got another quote for the replacement of the boiler, from a boiler-mechanical company, in business since 1967. They said they would install a 96% slant fin for $7K + change. Substantially better than the $11K quoted by the first guy. I may have to pay for this out of pocket, so it's a big improvement.
Now we're testing the radiant heat circulation system and finding a few issues... We pressurized with air to 40 psi and saw no noticeable change in the first 30 minutes. Came back the next morning and saw there was zero pressure. Checked all the caps (we capped all bleed valves) and re-pressurized. Again, seemed stable, but by next morning, it was down to zero again. A boiler guy said a very slow leak like that might be coming through the pressure gage, or it could be due to pin-holes in the pipes. We'll use thick dish soap to check for bubbles after we pressurize again, but if it turns out to be a small leak in the pipes inside the slab, we're told we could use boiler seal, or some compound like it to seal the system. He said we should be careful to flush out the sealing additive before connecting the boiler to the heat circulation pipes because boilers - especially condensing boilers - don't like having anything but water in them.
Your thoughts on how well boiler seal (or some equivalent) works? How about the slow leak...? Thoughts on a better way to test the circulation system?

Boiler Installation - Am I being gouged?

Boilers and pipes need to be hydrostatically pressure tested. That is using water under pressure. It may hold water pressure fine but leak air. Usually you fill the system and let it get to room temp and then pressurize it. High efficiency condensing boilers ABSOLUTELY HATE foreign material and need proper flushing. Otherwise you end up with water hammer sounds as they run the jacket REAL hot.

Boiler Installation - Am I being gouged?

Once again comparing prices which may not be comparing quality. Apples to Oranges. From the boilers I have seen/worked on and talking to my pro plumbers, Slant Fin is like a Chevy Cavalier and the Weil Mclain is a Buick. If it is just a rental house why don't you get a 84% Weil McLain:http://www.weil-mclain.com/products/display/2-CGi
which can be direct vented out a wall FYI. A lot simpler and more reliable IMO.

Boiler Installation - Am I being gouged?

Quote:

Originally Posted by yuri

Once again comparing prices which may not be comparing quality. Apples to Oranges. From the boilers I have seen/worked on and talking to my pro plumbers, Slant Fin is like a Chevy Cavalier and the Weil Mclain is a Buick. If it is just a rental house why don't you get a 84% Weil McLain:http://www.weil-mclain.com/products/display/2-CGi
which can be direct vented out a wall FYI. A lot simpler and more reliable IMO.

Good Luck

The scary thing.

Someone is going to install that 96% Slantfin, for the same price as someone wanted for an 80% Slantfin.